Christmas 2018

I don't decorate a lot for Christmas. We keep it fairly simple. We don't have decorations in every room. Homes that are completely decorated are beautiful! Like most families, we have a lot of responsibilities which means that we don't have a week to spend 'putting up Christmas.'

This is our simple tree. Last year it was teal and silver. This year silver with some red flowers.
The lights are colored so it looks as pretty at night as it does during the day.
You can see Tim's large nutcracker by the tree. It's the only one that doesn't fit on top of the piano.

Tim has been collecting Nutcrackers for a long time! We give him one or two every year.
It's my job to clear off the top of the piano.
It's Tim's job to set them all up!
There are a few that need a little repair, but no one really notices
and we all enjoy them standing tall and looking festive at this end of the front room.
In the back, on the left, you can see a beautiful candle holder that Tim turned for me many years ago. It stays out all year because I love it so!

I should probably take the red and white quilt off the back of the couch.
It's there all year and some years I just leave it.
I made the quilt on the wall a few years ago. It was a lot of work on the embroidery machine
and I loved the challenge!

My friend and I painted so many of these nativity puzzles many years ago!
She wanted one for each child in her family, I wanted one for my family.
It was quite a project getting them all cut out, sanded, and painted!

I bought this Nativity puzzle from Bless This Mess when she had an Etsy store.
One of my dearest friends painted it (Melissa's mom) and I wanted something to remind me of her
and the love we share.

This lovely nativity reminded Bryon of Lladro. He spent 2 years in Spain and he fell in love with Lladro while he was there. He found this nativity many years ago in a shop in the mall and got it for me for Christmas. I don't know how he managed to save enough money, it was out of our budget. It's very dear to all of us.

Of course Santa needs a magic key to get into the house! We always lock the doors at night, and I'm sure Santa doesn't want to come down the wood stove chimney!
I made this a few years ago, too.
The grandkids and many other families have one
because it's so important to make sure Santa can get into the house to leave his gifts!

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of Christmas at my house!

I love this post about Christmas. Brad does a lovely job explaining the meaning and importance of this wonderful season. This year our family has seen so many dear people pass away. It's at this time of the year that I remember and miss them. I also remember all the other family members that have gone before me. At this point in my life everyone who knew me as a baby is gone. It is an odd feeling.

However, I love that during this time of year I feel especially close to all those wonderful people. I'm a little sad when the 'holidays' end because it seems that I miss them even more.

The traditions that we enjoy link us to those who have gone before us. They remind us of family and friends, and help us remember to spend time together with those we love now, to think about the Savior, and to make memories with the people we love.

With so much to do and so much fun to have during this season remember that we can still do something nice for someone else every day! The nice things I do, I do in memory of the family and friends that have gone before me. They would love me to reach out to lift and strengthen others that are also feeling loss at this time of year.